Draco Malfoy
And the Bloodstone
_ _ _ _ _By Ti'ana
Chapter Ten
"DO YOU HAVE ANY COMPREHENSION OF THE EMBARRASSMENT YOU PUT YOUR MOTHER AND I THROUGH?! DOZENS OF GUESTS SITTING AROUND A TABLE WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN A RED ENVELOPE EXPLODES IN FRONT OF ME! I HOPE YOU ARE CONTENT WITH YOURSELF, YOUNG MAN! DON'T DARE EXPECT A FANCY PRESENT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY NEXT MONTH, EITHER! HOW MANY TIME HAVE WE TOLD YOU TO RESPECT US?!"
A chorus of laughs followed the scolding Lucius Malfoy had sent his son. The Howler Draco had sent his parents had been heard by his father's congregation of several people who, in secret, referred to themselves still as the Death Eaters. Of course, the only evil they ever performed was when they were told by Lord Voldemort himself. Other than that, they were, for the most part, good people. This trait was shattered in his mind by Draco's first official Howler. His parents always valued him as precious, and would never dream of leaving their son to the utter embarrassment he would have to face by his peers at lunch.
He wasn't surprised when Harry Potter approached him at the end of lunch. "So, you've come to taunt me, huh? Care to rub it in a little more? Just so you know, my parents never sent me a Howler before. I'd say the same for you, but your parents are-"
"That's not what I want to talk about." Harry's grim expression was enough to shut Draco up, and even intrigue him a bit.
"Well, then, what? Out with it, Potter, I don't have all day. I have Potions next, then Transfiguration, and then I have to start researching for Defense Against the Dark Arts. But... hey, why am I telling you?"
Harry's face didn't change, nor did his tone. "What were you doing with my Invisibility Cloak, Malfoy?"
Caught. "Eh? What are you rambling about, Potter? Perhaps you should see Madam Pomfrey for those awkward illusions of yours. It could be deadly. Most likely hereditary." He grinned evilly.
"I mean it, Malfoy! I know you took it because Neville saw Crabbe walking around in the Gryffindor house. Mighty coincidental that it coincided with the disappearance of my father's precious heirloom. I know you're going to tell me that you didn't take it, but I know you did already. Just tell me, what did you use it for?"
"I..." Draco didn't know what to say. Instead, he mumbled, "Yes, I took it. I had Crabbe sneak in with a list of passwords Longbottom dropped on the ground. I wasn't going to keep it-"
"I know it was you," Harry hissed under his breath. "Just tell me why."
Normally, Draco would dismiss Harry with a few choice words from his quick, rude tongue. Today, he wasn't feeling quite normal.
"Conspiracy, Potter," Draco whispered. "I overheard Professor Snape telling Lisha that he wanted to see her late at night, and I was interested. Obviously, I couldn't let them see me, and you're the only person in this school who has the Invisibility Cloak. I found out what I needed to find, and that was all I needed. For God's sake, please don't tell anyone what I just said!" Draco held his hands together, pleading. "If either of them find out, they'll turn it around against me, and in the end, I'll be expelled and my wand will be taken away from me and... and I'll wind up like Hagrid."
Up to the comment about Hagrid, Harry was looking pretty sympathetic. "I should turn you in, Malfoy. In fact, maybe I will. You and Crabbe." Harry waited until Draco's face fell halfway to the floor. "But I won't, under one circumstance."
"Anything!"
"Tell me two things. One- what did you find out. Two- why did you care?"
I knew it would come to this, Draco thought. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"
"Maybe Ron, but I'm sure he wouldn't care, because he hates you and everything you stand for."
"What, wealth?" Draco quickly apologized. "All right, I'll tell you. I went out after them to confirm my suspicions of the two of them... well, you know, their relationship. And boy, was it verified. And the next question, I cared because... because..." he paused. Should he lie? No, no matter how much he despised Harry, he did save him from expulsion of the school. He mumbled his answer quickly.
Harry sarcastically put a hand to his ear, cupping it so he could hear better. "What was that, Draco Malfoy? I didn't quite catch what you said. 'Tell Dumbledore?' Why, if you insist!"
"My God, Potter are you stubborn!" Draco almost smiled. "If you don't mind me saying this... I don't really have anyone intellectual to speak to. Crabbe wouldn't understand half what I say, and I can't tell Goyle because he likes Lisha, a lot. So here goes." He breathed in deeply. "The first time I saw her, she amazed me. Not because of her beauty, which she doesn't have much of. I mean, she is pretty, but, well, anyway, let me continue." (Harry motioned for him to do so.) "Those eyes of hers, they're so secretive. You can never tell what she's thinking, unless she's really angry, then they get really dark and not-so-friendly. She was so stubborn and rude, so naturally I couldn't stand her. As time went on, though, I realized she is just like me. Discourteous depending on the crowd, quick with words, brilliant, and handsome."
"Putting yourself on airs, Malfoy?" Harry smiled, genuinely.
"If no one else will, then why shouldn't I?" Draco shook his head. "I was worried about her. That is why I went after her."
"So, did you bother to tell her?"
Draco imagined telling Lisha he had followed her. All he could see was a shower of fists, but he couldn't tell if they were from her or Goyle. Maybe they were even his own. That thought made him laugh. "No way, Potter. We have detention together with Hagrid, and it could get pretty ugly out there in the Forbidden Forest if she wants to dispose of me." He swiped his finger across his neck. "Lisha has an odd response to things."
Harry nodded. He turned to walk away, but seemed to have changed his mind. "So what was the Howler for anyway?"
"Oh, that. I uh.... got mad at my parents because they wouldn't take me home for the vacation. Sent them one of the Howlers my friend got on a trip to Hogsmeade."
"You mean they have those there? Excellent! I'll have to pick some up on our next trip and send one to the Dursleys!" Harry looked pleased with himself.
"The who?"
But Harry was already on his way out of the Great Hall. Draco couldn't help but smile. This was a breakthrough, the fact he had been in a smiling-mood all week. What made the situation even more unbelievable was he had spoken with Harry Potter with no drawing of wands. It was a civil! He had told Harry, though, about his growing feelings for Lisha. What if he decided to tell her? The situation may become as bad as Draco had feared.
The next day, Saturday, at lunch, one of the Malfoy owls from home dropped by the Great Hall and landed on Draco's shoulder, dropping a letter in his plate of food.
"Loki, is that you?" Draco examined the markings of the bird. "Yes, that would be you. What's this for? Hey! Stop that!" The bird was chewing on the lobe of his ear. "Fine, fine! Here, take my roll."
Content, the bird flew back out the window with the rest of
the owls. He, though, would be on his way back to the Malfoy
residence. Interested that the letter wasn't another red Howler,
as Draco figured his parents would be sending quite a few, he
opened the parchment. Printed neatly on the paper were a few
words:
We'll pick you up
promptly at
five o'clock p.m. at Platform
9 ¾. Look for us.
Mum and Dad
This sure was a pick-me-up for Draco, as if he could be feeling any better.
***
"Got everything." Draco glanced again around his, Goyle's and Crabbe's dorm room. Twenty-five minutes and he'd be back on the Hogwarts Express, headed to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters to meet his parents.
"Well, Malfoy, gonna be awful quiet around here without you." Goyle was laying on his stomach sorting through his Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Those which looked suspicious, he handed to Crabbe, who was willing to try anything. Well, almost anything. He skipped one bean that was a pukey-pink color mixed with pea green splotches, and another that was a questionable yellow color.
"Whatever you say," Draco mumbled. "You won't miss me at all. Why, you guys will probably rent out my empty bed to someone while I'm gone."
Goyle's head shot up. "Who told you about that?"
"I didn't say anything!" Crabbe cried, spitting out one of the beans he had chewed quite a bit, trying to figure out what the flavor was.
"Jeez, you two are idiots. I was only kidding, guys."
"So were we," Goyle said nonchalantly. "We sold the land deed for your side of the room to Ron Weasley. Says he sold his house to pay for a spot in the Slytherin tower!" Crabbe laughed stupidly like a hyena.
"Come on, guys, don't pick on him." It took Draco a few seconds to realize who he was talking to. "I mean, that's my job to do that. I'm only allowed to make fun of the Weasleys."
His explanation was good enough for the two brutes, and they continued their venture through Goyle's red sack of Bertie Bott's. "See ya when you get back. Don't hurry."
"Yeah, yeah." Draco marched out of the room, pulling his robe tightly around his small frame, then continued down the stone corridor of the boys section of the Slytherin house. Walking down the corridor towards the Great Hall, Draco ran into Professor Blodsucan. He seemed too busy to notice his student, which was just fine for Draco. Moments later, he passed Blodsucan's office, and nearly trampled over a student bursting out from his office.
"Watch where you're going!" Draco had hit his shoulder on the opened door. The girl looked up at Draco with a look of terror mixed with anguish. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Draco.
"Not sorry," Lisha mumbled, "but glad it's only you."
"Looking for Blodsucan? He's back there by the..."
"I'm not looking for him," she answered quickly, and turned away from Draco.
"Then what were you doing?" Lisha had already started walking away. What was she doing? It certainly was suspicious. Draco had all vacation to think about Lisha (which he most likely would be doing during all waking hours, plus some). Now, however, he had to get to the Hogwarts Express and back home.
At King's Cross Station, Platform 9¾, Draco reunited with his parents late in the afternoon. The sun had already set, as he could see by the time on a Muggle clock. Growing up in a world dominated by Muggles, Draco was pretty much accustomed to such trinkets like watches and clocks. The fact several of his peers had watches disgusted him. Why hadn't they malfunctioned like any other electrical Muggle device would at Hogwarts? That school had many inconsistencies sometimes.
Not a word had been said between Draco and his parents since he had arrived. Casually, Lucius Malfoy Apparated when he was purposely caught in a crowd of Muggle travelers. "Why can't I do that?" Draco whined to his mother.
Narcissa sighed. "You're too young, darling. You don't have your license yet. I promise, when you turn eighteen."
"I'll be fifteen next month. Can't I make myself look older?"
"Not under our roof. Stop acting like a child, Draco, and please keep quiet. We are to use the Floo route. You know they open all the Floo passages for Hogwarts students to get home safely. There is a fireplace at our family friend's house not far from here."
"Why don't we just do what we always do and use the invisibility charm on father's flying car?"
"Lucius gave up ownership of the car once he found out about the Weasleys' flying car and the incident with Harry Potter a while ago. He said it was best not to risk sinking down to Mister Weasley's level by having his son drive his flying car to school one year to show off. Honestly, your father thinks too much. Personally, I don't mind the Weasley's one bit. Don't tell that to your father. Their son Ron is your age. You get along well with him, don't you?"
"Oh, but of course." Of course, Draco couldn't tell his mother he was more like his father than she thought. Almost as much as Lucius did, Draco could not stand the Muggle-lovers, Mudbloods and, up until two days ago, Harry Potter. There was a possibility that Ron Weasley would win a place as Draco's friend, but most definitely never that Mudblood Hermione. Lines had to be drawn somewhere. They formed the bushy-haired formally large-toothed Hermione. An "incident" occurred early in the year in which her teeth grew extremely large, and the nurse shrunk her them a bit more than they should have been. No matter how attractive the mistake had made her, or how "nice" Hermione may be, Draco would never catch himself being "civil" with her. That was something he could never do.
"Oh, Mother," Draco said. "I have a report due after this vacation on vampires and the Bloodstone. Do we have any books on the topic?"
Narcissa thought for a moment. "I believe so. The Scelesti family next door has a few acquaintances that are vampires. Perhaps you could ask them. I'm sure they'll have a book on the Bloodstone. They are very interested in vampirism. Ah, we've arrived." She turned to Draco, and instantly began fixing his collar. "Now, be your usual presentable and well-behaved self until we are home."
***
Draco had no idea how dull it was not to be at school. His second day of vacation was just like a weekend, but it felt as if he had been gone a full week. Why would he be rushing to get back to school? Detention and his January birthday were all he had to look forward to. Well, of course he had something to keep in mind. It made him uncomfortable to think of Lisha... in any way. Oh, being a teenager had far too many complications.
Narcissa knocked on Draco's opened door and stepped in. "Dracie, father is having some friends come over tonight. We suppose this would be the best time for you to head over to the Scelestis and do your essay."
"I want to stay and dine with father's friends."
Narcissa paused. "You know your father prefers you not to be around, acting like a nuisance when his friends are over. Besides, you have no say in the manner." Narcissa clicked her tongue. "Just go. You've always liked Fatua Scelesti, didn't you?"
Draco gritted his teeth. He sure was popular for doing that. "Fatua is ten years old. She's about as intelligent as the Weasley's are rich, and that's saying something..." He forgot about his mother's view of the Weasleys. "I mean...."
Narcissa narrowed her eyes. "I thought I raised you better than that. You are going to go to the Scelesti mansion. You will do your report tonight, or not at all."
Narcissa Malfoy was, for the most part, a woman of few words. When it came to Draco, though, she was a most powerful orator. What she says goes, Draco thought. He was always intimidated by Lucius, so he never thought to question the former Death Eater's command.
Standing outside the grand mansion of the Scelesti family, Draco clutched his hands together and looked towards the cloudy night sky. "Please, if You have any mercy on me, You'll make this quick and painless."
A clap of thunder seemed to mock the boy. Sighing heavily, Draco banged on the heavy wooden door.
"Mummy! Drackins is here!" The little voice from the other side of the door was unmistakably Fatua's. The door swung open, revealing the short girl with the adorably pudgy face. She reminded Draco of an unattractive Muggle porcelain doll he had seen while walking with his mother along a Muggle London street one afternoon.
Draco tried to pry the girl's sweaty hand off of his when she flung herself at him. "Daddy is out for the night paying a visit to your father. Mummy and I are here if you need help. I know lots about vampires if you need help!"
"I believe I'll be fine by myself, but thank you for your suggestion." Fatua left Draco in the library, not even telling him where the books on vampires would be. It was an impressive library with hundreds of shelves containing thousands of books. Some looked as if they hadn't been used in hundreds of years. He didn't doubt that, either.
After several minutes of browsing (at one point, he had to hold himself back from running when he saw the title How to Torture Your Guest With 100% Legal Magic), Draco sighed. "This is getting me no where. Accio, Vampire books!"
From shelves all over the library came dozens of books, some with thin bindings, and others as large as half an encyclopedia collections, all headed straight towards Draco. He braced himself as each book hit him, falling to the floor with small to rather large thuds. When it was over, Draco was left standing rather crookedly and bruised. "Ow."
Once he had arranged the books in three neat piles, Draco picked up a quill pen off of one of the desks and began his work.
"'The liquid dripped by the Bloodstone can only be contained by a crystal goblet so rare that only the head of all vampires has the substance. No one knows who or where the head of vampires lives, but there have been rumored sightings in Transylvania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the Sahara Desert, and less than one hundred years ago...'" Draco paused. "This sounds awfully familiar. Where have I heard this before?"
He shook his head. "Ah, here we go. 'The Bloodstone liquid is said to heal all vampires except for a select few. Those born vampires cannot be healed. Those made into vampires by the Nosferatu cannot be healed [See Chapter 107 for information as to being born a Nosferatu]." (According to Chapter 107, Nosferatu vampires were created by a pregnant mother being bitten, and the baby was born that species of vampire.) "Those who have been vampires for one hundred or more years are very difficult to transubstantiate back into human form, but it is possible if the Bloodstone's substance is given to them directly from the Vampire Leader.' Wow, and people actually believe this stuff."
An hour or so later, Draco found himself completely immersed in the Vampire belief system of both Muggles and the Magical communities. Many of the ideas were similar, but of course, only true Witches and Wizards were correct in their faiths. How would a Muggles know anything?
"'The Vampire Leader is said to keep a Port Key in his dwellings in order to have access to a world unknown to any non-vampiric being. The actual form is unknown, but is rumored to be very antediluvian, one amongst many other objects like it.' What the hell does that mean?"
Once he had finished two feet of his report, Draco yawned. It was well past ten o'clock at night, he figured, and wanted to be home, as he had just returned today and needed to become reacquainted with his bedroom. The familiar surroundings would most definitely make him feel better.
"You're leaving?" Fatua stood at the door of the library.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Draco gathered his papers and quills.
"Daddy has more books if you want. Please stay, Dracie!" Fatua's round eyes watered, and she began to sob.
"Oh, cut the crocodile tears," Draco said. "I'm tired, and I'm just about finished with my report. I don't need any more books. Tell your parents thank you for allowing me to use their library." And he was gone, leaving Fatua crying to herself. She stopped as soon as he was out of view, and went back upstairs to bed.
Finally, Draco was able to throw himself on his own bed and fall into a blissful sleep. When he woke up the next morning, images of a dream bundled up with the information he had acquired the night before came back to him. He dreamed the leader of the vampires was his father, and he was forced to obey Lucius's every command.
At breakfast, Draco couldn't help but laugh when he saw his father. Lucius's gaunt face, pale blonde hair and light blue eyes certainly did make him seem otherworldly. Then Draco stopped, both because his father met his eye, and that he was the spitting image of Lucius. Quickly, he went back to his food.
Several minutes of silence went by before Lucius spoke up. "We've been thinking about what to get you for your birthday, son."
"What've you come up with this year?"
"We figure you've had enough broomsticks for one lifetime. Besides, you are doing very well with your Nimbus Two Thousand and Two, I hear. You have all the dress robes you need, but you do not get out nearly enough."
Draco placed his fork down. "What are you saying, father?"
Narcissa spoke up. "Instead of the traditional birthday gift, we thought that it would be nice to bring you somewhere, wherever you wish, for your birthday. Of course, it will have to be during the summer, and you may bring a friend-"
"Crabbe and Goyle."
"A friend, Draco. We cannot handle both Vincent and Gregory at the same time. You may bring one of them, and perhaps later on the other one. I've always liked Gregory more, he seemed to be the more intelligent one. Wonderful family."
"How can I only choose one of them, Mother? They are both my friends. Even if I eventually take one later on, he'll think I favor the other one more. Although, I doubt Crabbe will be able to see that far... It's the connotation, Mother. You're making me choose which friend I like better."
"Or," Lucius interrupted, "you can go alone, or not at all. We can simply get you another dress robe this year, or perhaps an antique broom."
Draco sighed. "I'll think it over. I've always wanted to go to Egypt and visit the Magic Underworld. I hear they are very interesting."
Lucius snorted. "They are fools, if you ask me. All those years they spent trying to fix up that Sphinx so the Muggles would think they did a good job, and they chipped the nose off the thing! Ah well, that's what you get for trying to help a worthless Muggle. Not too brilliant in my view. All those stories Muggles came up with over the years, and the answer was right under their noses! If you'll pardon the pun."
Muggles, Muggles, Muggles. Lucius's favorite topic. It was a debatable topic, but in the Malfoy house, Muggles were bad and Wizards were good. Muggles should be eliminated by the Wizards. Wizards should dominate the world. Always the same.
School wouldn't be starting for almost a week. Even seven days at Hogwarts seemed shorter than this. Perhaps he should have stayed at school after all. At least he had Christmas to look forward to.
